Impact of a patient-facing video on CHG bathing compliance in patients admitted to a bone marrow transplant unit

Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin treatments are an effective strategy to reduce patients' risk of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI); however, compliance with this practice is suboptimal. One barrier is patient refusal of CHG skin treatments. To mitigate this barrier, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of implementing a patient-facing CHG skin treatment educational video on an inpatient adult bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit.

A quasi-experimental pre-post research study design was used.

The study took place at a large academic hospital in the Southeastern U.S.

Patients admitted to a 16-bed BMT unit were included.

A patient-facing CHG skin treatment educational video was developed with input from a multidisciplinary team, patients, and their family members. Patients accessed the video through a QR code or website link provided on a laminated document.

The video was viewed 173 times, with an average of 84% of the video watched. Of the 117 patients who completed a feedback survey, most felt the video was helpful and increased their likelihood of participating in CHG skin treatments. No improvements were shown in documented CHG compliance or patient refusals. A 27.2% reduction in the CLABSI rate was found, with a decreased rate of 2.54 to 1.85 post-intervention, although this reduction was not statistically significant, P = .58.

While patients found the video beneficial, future research that includes more diverse patient populations is needed to better understand the long-term impact of a CHG skin treatment educational video.